Theatre Review: BODIES – Breathtaking adventures in multiple dimensions
Theatre Review:
BODIES – Breathtaking adventures in multiple dimensions
Written by Raminder Kaur, directed by Mukul Ahmed.
Produced by Sohaya Vision, Mukul & Ghetto Tigers.
Seen at The Hawth in Crawley, UK - 1 October 2018
When one in two people are likely to get over
cancer over their lifetime, knowing what to do and how to deal with it becomes
all the more important.
BODIES is an experimental, multi-media show
based on people’s experiences with cancer and how they lived and thrived during
and after their diagnosis.
As I re-read the pitch that describes the show,
BODIES, which I saw at the Crawley Hawth in October, I find it extremely
precise and yet somehow limited in conveying the power of this play and the
challenge it had to creatively portray a tragic and complex issue such as a cancer diagnosis. In less than an hour, the acting, the scenes, the sound and
visuals carry the spectator inside the drama of one man whose life has just
been turned upside down by the discovery in his body of an insidious breast cancer.

The acting was excellent to make this
experimental multi-media production an
innovative way to reach out to a diverse audience with a very difficult
theme.
Whether close or far-removed, cancer remains a taboo subject that is rarely discussed beyond the circles of people whose lives have been affected by it or who are working in the sector. For that alone, the play is to be applauded.
Whether close or far-removed, cancer remains a taboo subject that is rarely discussed beyond the circles of people whose lives have been affected by it or who are working in the sector. For that alone, the play is to be applauded.
But it
is also to be lauded on other fronts. Bodies combines tragedy with comedy and a
surreal parallel world that lends the play multi-layered meanings. This
first play was part of Research and Development, a way to actively engage people
who have themselves - or their close kin - experienced the encounter with
cancer. And this is also what makes it highly unique and impressive. The play has
in fact been scripted out of the stories shared by patients, doctors, nurses,
cancer support centre operators who, from different perspectives have dealt
with cancer. Encouraged to take part in the production and with the active
support of the Olive Tree Centre for Cancer Support and the Shine network for
young people with cancer, they have all shared their feelings, fear and resilience.
Raminder Kaur, the playwright, and Mukul Ahmed, the director, have then weaved these
stories into a powerful and sensitive play that takes you inside their experiences
and yet leave you with an uplifting smile.
Despite
the terrible despair associated with cancer, the play is a celebratory
recognition of the courage and strength of all people involved, from the patient
that is diagnosed with a life-threatening and surely life-changing illness, to
doctors, nurses, fellow patients and their supporters. There is humour all
around and a deep philosophy that leaves us resonating with hope - if not of a
physical healing - of an emotional and spiritual empowering recovery: the
person affected by cancer is, if not a warrior, definitely a thriver of life
beyond what might seem like a death sentence. As the Sanskrit translation in
the evocative scene at the end suggests: ‘Master your mind and your body will
follow’.
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